National Gallery announces four new exhibitions for 2021 

Additions to programme include displays on photography, new acquisitions, archival material and a new collaboration with young people.

The National Gallery of Ireland is delighted to announce four new additions to its 2021 exhibition programme. All free to visit, new exhibitions include a dive into the archive of Anne Yeats, a study of people in photography, artistic expressions of members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and an interesting perspective on the life and work of Joseph Beuys. Currently, following Government guidance, visitors must book a free ticket to enter the Gallery, with pre-booking recommended. The Gallery is open seven days a week.

Showcasing the work of a group of young LGBTQIA+, gender non-confirming people and allies, Queer Mind, Body and Soul explores the experiences and perspectives of their community. Collaborating with artist Shireen Shortt, the group have worked on modes of artistic expression across multiple disciplines and media. A collaboration between the Gallery’s Apollo Project and Gaisce - The President's Award’s LikeMinded programme, Queer Mind, Body and Soul opens in the Millennium Wing Studio on 30 July 2021.

Celebrating humanity in all its forms, photography exhibition Picturing People showcases over 70 works recently acquired for the national collection. From chats on street corners in Dublin to pilgrims ascending Croagh Patrick in Mayo; from lovers on park benches in New York to passengers on buses in Liverpool, the exhibition features Irish and international photographers such as Lee Miller, Elliott Erwitt, Inge Morath, Dorothea Lange, Eamonn Doyle, Dennis Dinneen and Aoife Shanahan. Picturing People opens in the Print Gallery on 11 September 2021.

Anne Yeats: The Everyday Fantastic delves into the archive of Anne Yeats, W.B. Yeats’s daughter. Chief designer for the Abbey Theatre, and founding member of Graphic Studio and Aosdána, Yeats’s important contribution to Irish culture spanned many decades. Her processes and practices can be explored through dozens of sketches, etchings and paintings in this exhibition. Anne Yeats: The Everyday Fantastic opens in Room 11 on 2 October 2021.

Marking the centenary of the birth of one of the most influential German artists of the twentieth century, Unity in Diversity: Joseph Beuys in Ireland is curated by Sean Rainbird, Director of the National Gallery of Ireland. The exhibition comprises a selection of photographs of Joseph Beuys taken by his friend Caroline Tisdall on visits to Ireland in the 1970s. It features the artist visiting well-known locations, such as the Giant’s Causeway and Newgrange. Unity in Diversity: Joseph Beuys in Ireland opens in the Millennium Wing Studio on 30 October 2021.

These exhibitions mark the latest additions to a busy year of shows and programmes at the National Gallery of Ireland. An exhibition of new acquisitions to the national collection, New Perspectives, is currently on display in the Gallery’s Beit Wing. Later this year, a landmark exhibition of the work of Jack B. Yeats will open to visitors. Other highlights include Boring Art? (an exhibition curated by young people for young people) and the popular Zurich Portrait Prizes. The Gallery also continues to run a packed programme of online events, talks and workshops through the online hub ‘National Gallery at Home’. Find out more at www.nationalgallery.ie. 

Media contact:
Kate O’Leary, Communications, National Gallery of Ireland [email protected] / 087 334 1587

Notes to Editor:

• Images are available on request. 
• Gallery representatives including Director Sean Rainbird are available for interview.

Queer Mind, Body and Soul
A collaboration between the National Gallery of Ireland’s Apollo Project and Gaisce - The President's Award’s LikeMinded programme
Millennium Wing Studio, free admission
30 July – 17 October 2021
The Apollo Fellowship is made possible through the generous support of the Apollo Foundation. The Gaisce LikeMinded Programme has been made possible with the support of Rethink Ireland and Norma Smurfit.

Picturing People
Print Gallery, free admission
11 September – 5 December 2021
Curator: Sarah McAuliffe (Curatorial Assistant)
This exhibition was made possible with the support of a private donor.

Anne Yeats: The Everyday Fantastic
Room 11, free admission
2 October 2021 – 15 May 2022
Curators: Donal Maguire (Curator, ESB Centre for the Study of Irish Art), Donna Rose (Fellow, ESB Centre for the Study of Irish Art) and Grace O’Boyle (Fellow, ESB Centre for the Study of Irish Art)
This exhibition is part of a series of annual exhibitions by the National Gallery of Ireland’s ESB Centre for the Study of Irish Art (ESB CSIA). The ESB CSIA is a research facility at the Gallery, housing one of the most important collections of library and archival material associated with the history of Irish art.

Unity in Diversity: Joseph Beuys in Ireland
Millennium Wing Studio, free admission
30 October 2021 – 9 January 2022
Curator: Sean Rainbird (Director)